Rates Tick Up

The economy has been generally flat since 2Q2011. Despite unstable U.S. fundamentals, it appears that the long awaited technical bear market is lifting Treasury yields and causing upward rate pressure today. This should last two weeks at most, then likely to resume their drop based on perception of what is happening in the Eurozone.

Here’s a roundup of today’s data…

Existing Home Sales (April 2012)
– Existing Home Sales (Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate) 4,620,000
– Previous was 4,480,000 revised to 4,470,000
– +10% year-over-year (April 2012 vs. April 2011)
– Tenth straight month of year-over-year gains
– Considering how low interest rates are and considering how much values have dropped, this data indicates a lack of confidence from potential buyers. Also the home sales story is more local. More to come on this.